“Today, the Internet of Things (IoT) can change a life. Tomorrow, it can Transform the world.”

That was how Samsung billed its IoT event ‘Internet of Things – Transforming the Future’. Undoubtedly the IoT has huge potential to change lives for the better, help businesses operate with more efficiency, and radically transform our relationship with technology. Samsung’s bold statement of intent indicates a willingness to take that potential and run with it.

IoT is changing lives

“At Samsung, putting people at the center of everything we do is our highest value,” said Kwon. “The same must be true for IoT if we want to realize its full transformative power. Today, IoT is changing individual lives – helping people to age in their own homes. But tomorrow, using IoT, we can give the same independence to millions of Americans. We can keep people out of hospitals and nursing homes. As our populations live longer, these benefits and cost savings for society cannot be ignored.”

During the talk, Kwon outlined a strategy that will see spending amounting to $1.2 billion over the next 4 years. The investment will be divided between startups operating in the IoT space and Samsung’s own ongoing operations, which include a chip fabrication lab in Texas and a research center in Palo Alto.

“If we want innovators everywhere to make use of IoT, we must make sure all tools are open to them. This means technologies that connect to each other because we know that boundaries around technologies hold back innovation and scale,” the Vice Chairman said.

Samsung focused on the bigger picture

Samsung’s vice chairman also implored attendees at the event to pursue cross-sector dialogue. In the spirit of collaboration, Kwon announced Samsung’s role as a co-founder of the newly launched National IoT Strategy Dialogue.

The ‘Dialogue’ will aim to develop a National IoT Strategy to inform policy makers and help them better enable IoT technology.